


Horror

by Ibenholt



Category: Babylon 5
Genre: AU, F/M, Family Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-08
Updated: 2013-08-08
Packaged: 2017-12-22 20:42:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/917811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ibenholt/pseuds/Ibenholt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nightmares are a family-thing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Horror

"Where's papa?" Delenn, John, Dius and David look at Sannel like she has gone mad. The meal has been quiet, like it tends to. There is no time for upsetting questions. "You… you mean 'dad', right?" John says while giving her a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. 

"No, I mean papa." She knows where dad is. He is on Centauri Prime on business he did not want to share with her. But why not? He's never had secrets for her before. There's always been the two of them, travelling the Universe together and always having each other's backs.

Stop.

Two? That's not right. They have always been three, perfection to the Minbari. Her, dad and papa. But why can't she remember ever doing anything with papa, or talking to him? She can only see his face in short glimpses, and those do not even resemble him. Pictures from the news that make dad look away and grind his teeth.

She knocks over her cup when she flees the room. She hears Dius roar, and the sound of them running after her. When she turns around, they have lost their shapes and faces. As she makes her way to the hall that leads to the shuttle bay, they have become dark, and finally wailing, spider-creatures with glowing eyes. Sannel screams when one stretches out and touches her ankle so that she trips. They attack her, and her screams are choked by theirs.

 

She wakes up on the floor of a chamber she can't recognize. Her attackers are gone and her clothes are covered in blood. She freezes. Curtains that perhaps had been lavender once are full of soot and are caressing her skin along with the breeze coming from the window. With it comes the stench that fire leaves.

Once she can move again, she sits up and looks for a door. There is a new corridor outside it. There are cracks in the walls, and there is dust on the floor. Something crunches under her boots, and she moves faster.

 

She starts to recognize the corridor. She ran through it many times as a child. Or did she? Was that her in the pink and brown dress, the little cap that covered her poor excuse for hair? It is all gone now. Dad made certain.

 

Far away, she can hear someone cough. It sounds bad, as if their throat is raw. It must be all the smoke. Sannel starts running. The throne room seems bigger and darker when she comes in. but her focus falls on the source of the coughing. It's papa. He is sitting in the emperor's seat. He is dressed in imperial white. The seal is around his neck. But by G'Quan, how old and broken he is. He coughs again, and a string of blood goes from his chapped lips to his glove.

 

She approaches him with no idea what she will do or say. But when he sees her, his eyes light up and he leans forward as if he has been longing for company for years. She screams when she sees the parasite on his shoulder. He tries to rise, but he is weak and falls back in his seat. He holds his arms out to her, and she is uncertain if it's a sign for her to leave him alone, or to come closer. She does not get the time to discover it, because dad's strong hand is around her shoulder, turning her around so that she can stare into the empty socket of his left eye. His words come out twisted when he speaks: "Why did you come here?!" He vanishes and materializes beside papa's throne, chained with the same dark material that Sheridan and the others turned into. They do not struggle when it covers them and changes shape into one of the beasts from before. Sannel cannot move when it flies against her, its many red eyes boring themselves into her own. The scream it lets out when it puts its claws into her chills her to the bone.

—————————————————————————————————

 

Sannel woke up on the floor, tangled in her sheets. She kicked them off and put them back in the bed. She was wide awake, something of an achievement considering the time. The clock was barely 0400 hours according to the computer. She looked up at Daffy who was sitting on a shelf on the opposite wall. Dad had patched him up a few years ago, and she had let him sit there ever since, because she was afraid he would fall apart again. Sensing that it would take a while before she could even think about letting herself go back to sleep, put her robe on, grabbed Daffy and went out to the kitchen.

 

Papa had never understood her obsession with hot brivari. He saw it as a waste, as most of the alcohol vanished and the taste was barely to be recognized. But apparently, the smell was the very worst thing about it. She wondered if that was what had woken him up when he came out from the bedroom. He sniffed, grimaced and pointed to her:

"Up so late? Or is it early? In either case, you're too young."

"I didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't, my dear. I haven't slept for a few hours."

"Bad dreams?"

"Yes."

"Me, too. Brivari?"

"Is it hot?"

"Searing."

"Then keep it. It's your father's fault that you can stomach that."

"I guess. There's some on the counter that I haven't warmed up."

"Ah, good. I'm glad you don't waste all of it. We use a lot of money on it. Good liquor is never cheap, but it is effective." He sat down with a glass of his own that he clinked against her cup. "Valtoo." She muttered the toast back to him and drank.

 

It was indeed tempting to get drunk and just sleep undisturbed for the rest of the night, but she was so cold and every time she closed her eyes, the image of the monsters screaming at her came back. She envied papa. At least he had someone beside him when he slept. Daffy's voice box was beyond repair, and he provided no warmth. Papa poked his finger into the place where the box once had been. "Is that tired old washrag still here? Mr. Garibaldi appreciates that kind of loyalty." She kissed the worn down plush on the toy's head, "I know." She avoided mentioning that he had wanted to throw him out and buy her a doll or a new dress instead. She was not in the mood for an argument, even a good-natured discussion. He took her hand in his, rubbing his thumb over it. "Whatever it was, my darling, it's over now. And if we stay up much longer, your father will get up too and scold us."

 

They finished their drinks and rose. He began heading for his bedroom when she touched his shoulder, "Papa?" She put her arms around him and didn't let him go for a while. He put his arms around her as well, swaying back and forth as if they were dancing. He hummed a lullaby she thought she was sick of hearing close to her ear. For the first time that night, she was fully confident where she was, who she was, and who he was. But she was not confident enough to go back to sleep.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Suffer the Innocent (For Our Mistakes)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/445796) by [Avelera](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avelera/pseuds/Avelera), [Ibenholt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ibenholt/pseuds/Ibenholt)




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